In this interview excerpt, Paul Mertz, Deputy Director from 1970 to 1976 and Director from 1976 to 1981 in the Political Affairs Directorate of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, describes the preparations for the Venice Declaration of June 1980, in which the Nine called for the acknowledgment of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and for the PLO to be involved in peace negotiations with Israel, and emphasises the importance of this declaration.